November 09, 2007
Some Morning Peggy to Cleanse the Pallate
MMMMmmmmm, Peggy........ Yips! from Robbo: I know I've told this story before but I'm gonna do it again anyway. After I graduated from college in '87, I managed to wangle a year's stint as a research assistant in Parliament. (Technically it was for a Labour member, but he was a sort of proto-typical Tony Blair New Labour guy and anyway it was a year in London so who really cares, right?) Anyhoo, a couple times I managed to grab passes to go see Prime Minister's Question Time when the Iron Lady was at the peak of her powers. Abso-freakin-lutely phenomenal.
Posted by: Steve-O at 11:08 AM | Comments (17) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
The Bernanke/Paulson Bet on the Dollar
The strategy which seems to be to let the dollar slide to bring the trade deficit under control seems to be working:
he U.S. trade deficit fell to the lowest level in 28 months as a falling dollar spurred U.S. exports to an all-time high. The deficit with China jumped to the second highest level on record as imports of toys and other goods surged despite a rash of safety recalls.As the current accounts deficit shrinks, gross national product rises. The danger in this play though is losing the soft power that came to the US through the dollar being the reserve currency of choice in the world. However, if the Euro begins to split that role with the dollar, this is not necessarily bad for us, as it will increase the EU's leverage worldwide, but at the same time foist more responsibility on them, as well as reduce their anxiety about US hegemony and hyper-power. But what we really need to do to reduce the trade deficit is get serious about oil importation, which means ANWR.
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The Commerce Department said Friday that the deficit for September dipped by 0.6 percent from the previous month -- to $56.5 billion. That was the narrowest trade imbalance since May 2005 and took economists by surprise. They had been forecasting the deficit would rise. The improvement came from a 1.1 percent jump in U.S. exports, which climbed to a record $140.1 billion. The dollars' decline against many major currencies has made U.S. goods cheaper and more competitive in foreign markets. For September, sales of American-made cars, computers and farm products including corn, cotton, wheat and soybeans were all up. Imports also rose in September, climbing by 0.6 percent to $196.6 billion, the second highest level on record. Imports of foreign-made cars, televisions and clothing were all up. Oil imports, however, fell by 0.8 percent to $10.5 billion, an improvement that is likely to be temporary given the recent surge in oil prices to close to $100 per barrel. The deficit with China rose 5.5 percent to $23.8 billion, second only to a $24.4 billion deficit in October 2006. Imports surged to the second highest level on record, pushed up by big gains in imports of Chinese-made televisions, cell phones, computers and toys as retailers stocked their shelves for Christmas. Those gains were occurring despite a string of high-profile recalls of Chinese products this year -- everything from toys with lead paint to defective tires and chemical-tainted toothpaste and pet food ingredients. Through September, the trade deficit is running at an annual rate of $703.4 billion, down by 7.4 percent from last year's $758.5 billion. Analysts believe that surging exports from a weaker dollar will lead to a narrowing of the deficit for the full year, breaking a string of five consecutive records. Critics of President Bush's trade policies say that even with the narrowing of the deficit this year, the imbalances are still running at unsustainable levels, forcing the United States to depend more and more on foreigners' willingness to hold dollars to finance the imbalances. While a falling dollar is good for exports, it raises worries that at some point foreigners will be less willing to purchase dollar-denominated investments such as U.S. stocks and bonds. Such a change in sentiment could send stock prices plunging and push up U.S. interest rates. The administration scored its first congressional victory on trade this week when the House passed a free trade agreement with Peru. However, approval of three other deals with Panama, Colombia and South Korea are expected to face tougher challenges in Congress. For September, America's foreign oil bill dropped by 0.8 percent to $10.5 billion reflecting a drop in volume. The average price for a barrel of imported crude rose to a record $68.51 in September and is expected to climb even higher with the recent spike in spot oil prices, which traded this week near $100 per barrel. The imbalance with the European Union dropped a sharp 37.1 percent to $6.4 billion. The dollar has fallen to record lows against the 13-nation euro currency, which means that U.S. products are cheaper in those markets while European goods are more expensive for American consumers. The deficit with Canada, America's largest trading partner, dropped by 3.2 percent to $4.9 billion while the imbalance with Mexico fell 9.3 percent to $6.3 billion.
Posted by: Steve-O at 11:01 AM | Comments (16) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
November 08, 2007
"L" Is For Llosers
Well, the polls closed a while ago over at the 2007 Weblog Awards and barring some miraculous electronic-chad scandal, it looks like we Llamas got left rayther badly behind, pulling 6th place in our category with a paltry 5.9% of the votes.
We'll be over at the bar drowning our sorrows along with the other also-rans:
(Yips! to the Colossus, I think. I stole this pic so long ago I can't remember where it came from.) In the meantime, thanks to those of you who did vote for us this year. Yip! Yip! Yip!
Posted by: Robert at 05:35 PM | Comments (20) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
Wait, I think she's made my LLama the chick
Sadie's gonna pay for this travesty.
Yips! from Robbo: After all those times you pshopped me into drag Steve-o, all I can say is BWAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!!! And a big shoutout goes to Sadie for putting me right next to Seven. Yip! Yip! Yip!Posted by: Steve-O at 01:11 PM | Comments (16) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
361 Days to the Election: What do you have to do exactly to be half as popular as the most unpopular president in history?
A whole lot of nothing, apparently.
Wishful thinking or whistling past the graveyard in the Washington Post? You be the judge:One year out from the election, congressional Democrats are increasingly confident they can tighten their hold on the House and Senate. Although public approval of Congress has dipped dramatically since House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) took control early this year,Let me interupt right there for a moment and go to the recent poll numbers from NBC/WSJ: Bush: approve 29%, disapprove 66%,
Pelosi/Reid led Congress, approve 15%, disapprove 78% Are there other polls showing Congress (and Bush) a little higher? Yes, but those numbers speak for themselves. But it is interesting to note how the Washington Post's style book has defined "dramatically," as in "New York Times revenues and circulation dramatically sets new records," and "Iraq situation dramatically turns worse for Democrats." Back to the tape:
Democratic operatives believe they still can expand their majorities in 2008 by running hard against President Bush and his war policies. Republicans are also hampered by mounting retirements of veteran member and a huge disparity in fundraising by the two parties. "I'd much rather be in our shoes than their shoes," said Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. "George Bush and his legacy will be on the ballot."The item that's true is that retirements are going to make it difficult for the Republicans to take back Congress. But what Mr. Van Hollen hasn't perhaps realized is that George Bush will not be on the ballot: years of fantasizing about ReputhugliKKKhan fascist plots to the contrary, it's leftist darlings Hugo Chavez and Vladimir Putin who are staying past their constitutionally defined terms, not George Bush. Bush's legacy will certainly be in the air, but it won't be on the ballot: the Democratic Congress will have to run on its own record of accomplishments, which includes:
raising the minimum wage wait, I'm thinking...
Ah yes, having the courage to force the president to change strategies and commanders to bring about the successful shift in Iraq strategy. Remember, they don't call it Schumer's Surge for nothing... Increasingly you're going to find Republicans putting those 1/20/09 bumperstickers on the insides of their trunk lids---Bush heading back to the Ranch (and the Bush family leaving national politics for a generation at least) is the best thing that will happen to the Republican Party in DC and in the country. UPDATE: The crisis spreads to Germany, where Der Speigel notes---with horror!---that Bush's political fortunes are rising:
In fact, he is doing the opposite by recovering. Instead of destroying the president, the ongoing public hostility has only made him stronger. Bush, the man who has become firmly ensconced as a wartime president, has scored three successes recently. One can either welcome them or feel threatened by them, but to ignore them would be a mistake.
First, there has been noticeable improvement on the Iraqi war front. Unless the Pentagon statistics Bush recited on Friday in a speech to soldiers at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, are made up, the new Iraq strategy appears to be working. The number of weekly bombing attacks on US troops has dropped by half, and the number of US military deaths is the lowest in a year and a half. At the same time, US forces are arresting or killing more than 1,500 terrorist "thugs," as Bush called them, each month. If the military successes continue, public opinion toward Bush and his Republicans could soon improve. Americans are not against war itself, they just don't like losing. Second, Bush dominates his party's search for a suitable presidential candidate, and he does so without voicing a preference for any of the candidates. Instead, he exerts control by dictating the job description. According to Bush, the right man for the job would not be an economic expert or a seasoned diplomat, but a sheriff, a man with nerves of steel, a man who can lead. Of course, for Bush being a strong leader means, first and foremost, leading the nation into war. All of the Republican candidates are going to great lengths to display at least a minimum of toughness and boldness, along with a healthy dose of lunacy. Vietnam veteran John McCain dubbed his campaign tour the "No Surrender Tour." In an article in Foreign Affairs, former New York Mayor and current Republican frontrunner Rudy Giuliani offers an outline of his foreign policy that practically reeks of blood. America must revamp its military, Giuliani writes, adding that it "will not be cheap, but it is necessary." For him, Afghanistan and Iraq "are only two battlegrounds in a wider war." The next president, Giuliani writes, must "mobilize the 9/11 generation for the momentous tasks ahead." Giuliani is currently polling just behind Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton, which brings us to the president's third, most spectacular success, most clearly visible on the other side of the political spectrum. The issues important to the Democrats -- poverty, healthcare reform and the looming climate catastrophe -- pale in comparison to the Iraq war.
Posted by: Steve-O at 01:08 PM | Comments (16) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
A new intertube malady defined
The Colossus sends word via the Tasty Bits Mail Sack that we are apparently suffering from the new virulent strain of BDS---Bellichick Derangement Syndrome.
My only response is: guilty and lovin' it. Yips! from Robbo: I saw yesterday that Don Shula was calling for an asterisk in the record books should the Pats win it all. Now Coach is a class guy and there's not much that he could do to which I would object, but even I thought this was over the top. Apparently, Don has now thought better of it himself. YIPS from Steve-O: We now have exclusive pics from the Shula Noozconference:
Apparently, Shula and the 72 Fins have hired noted legal counsel Matlock to represent them in their future battles with Bill Bellichick and the Pats.
Posted by: Steve-O at 12:51 PM | Comments (22) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
Gratuitous Royal Navy Geekery Posting
He was known as Foul-weather Jack because of his frequent bad luck with the weather. Byron was the second son of the 4th Baron Byron. He joined the navy at a young age, accompanying Baron Anson on his circumnavigation as a midshipman. Byron's ship, HMS Wager, was shipwrecked on the coast of Patagonia, and the survivors decided to split in two teams, one to make its way by boat to Rio de Janeiro, the other, John Byron's, to sail North and meet Spaniards. He wrote of his adventures in The Narrative of the Honourable John Byron, which sold well enough to appear in several editions. These experiences form the basis of the novel The Unknown Shore by Patrick O'Brian, which closely follows Byron's own account. In 1760 he was in command of a squadron sent to destroy the fortifications at Louisbourg. In July of that year he defeated the French flotilla sent to relieve New France at the Battle of Restigouche. Between June 1764 and May 1766 Byron completed his own circumnavigation as captain of HMS Dolphin. In 1765 he took possession of the Falkland Islands on the part of Britain on the ground of prior discovery, and his doing so was nearly the cause of a war between Great Britain and Spain, both countries having armed fleets to contest the sovereignty of the barren islands. On this voyage, Byron discovered islands of the Tuamotus, Tokelau and the Gilbert Islands, and visited Tinian in the Northern Marianas Islands. In 1769 he was appointed governor of Newfoundland. He was made Commander-in-chief of the British fleet in the West Indies in 1778 and 1779 during the American War of Independence. He unsuccessfully attacked a French fleet under the Comte d'Estaing at the Battle of Grenada in July 1779. He was the father of John "Mad Jack" Byron, who in turn fathered the poet Lord Byron. He was also the grandfather of George Anson Byron, another admiral and explorer.I have both The Unknown Shore and O'Brian's other novel about Admiral Ansen's 1740 expedition to capture the Manila Galleon, The Golden Ocean (actually O'Brian's first sea novel). It's been a long while since I read either of them. My recollection is that they were pretty good, if not quite up to the standard of the Aubrey/Maturin books. Also, one sees a few parallels: The Golden Ocean features a gigantic, immensely strong Irishman who resembles a kind of intelligent Padeen. The Unknown Shore features as sidekick to the main character a hapless surgeon's mate who could be a proto-Maturin. I must look into Byron's own account of his shipwreck mentioned above and see if it is still available. Mmmmmm.....Primary sources......Mmmmmm...... Oh, and yes indeed, Admiral Byron was the grandfather of the poet Lord Byron. There are a couple of passages in the Aubrey/Maturin books where O'Brian pokes fun at the misunderstanding between Jack, other sailors and Stephen over who is being spoken of, the admiral or the poet. And at one point, Stephen gives a summary of Lord Byron's poetry:
"He is a poet, sir," said Stephen, "one that writes excellent doggerel with flashes of brilliant poetry in it; but whether the poetry would flash quite so bright were it not for the contrast, I cannot tell: I have not read much of him."I assume this is O'Brian's own opinion, conventiently placed in the mouth of Maturin. From my own encounters with Byron years ago, I would probably agree. However, I was never a fan and consequently did not go very deep into the matter. The man was a first class swine who characterized everything I loathe about the excesses of Romanticism and I never got beyond that.
Posted by: Robert at 10:58 AM | Comments (16) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
The Dangers of Pythonification
I note that today is the anniversary of the birth of Dr. Christiaan Barnard, the famouse South Effricken heart surgeon.
Alas, the mind of Robbo has been so warped by years and years and years of Monty Python that I simply cannot hear or read Dr. Barnard's name without thinking of this:Tonight's the night I shall be talking about of flu the subject of word association football. This is a technique out a living much used in theAnd yes, it's John Cleese's voice that I hear in my head whenever I think of this. Sigh. "It is a far, far better thing that I do now then, now then, what's going onward Christian Barnard the famous hearty part of the lettuce now praise famous mental homes for loonies like me," pretty much sums it up.
practice makes perfect of psychoanalysister and brother and one that has
occupied piper the majority rule of my attention squad by the right number one
two three four the last five years to the memory. It is quite remarkable baker
charlie how much the miller's son this so-called while you were out word
association immigrants' problems influences the manner from heaven in which we sleekit cowering timrous beasties all-American Speke, the famous explorer. And the really well that is surprising partner in crime is that a lot and his wife of the lions' feeding time we may be c d e effectively quite unaware of the fact or fiction section of the Watford Public Library that we are even doing it
is a far, far better thing that I do now then, now then, what's going onward
christian Barnard the famous hearty part of the lettuce now praise famous
mental homes for loonies like me. So on the button, my contention causing all
the headaches, is that unless we take into account of Monte Cristo in our
thinking George the Fifth this phenomenon the other hand we shall not be able
satisFact or Fiction section of the Watford Public Library againily to
understand to attention when I'm talking to you and stop laughing, about human nature, man's psychological make-up some story the wife'll believe and hence the very meaning of life itselfish bastard, I'll kick him in the balls upon the road.
Posted by: Robert at 10:25 AM | Comments (15) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
Cranky Commuter Observation
My local Starbucks is tricked out in its full Christmas rig this morning.
A colleague says we ought to be thankful that they at least waited until after Halloween. Perhaps, but I'm sick of it already. Feh.Posted by: Robert at 08:24 AM | Comments (21) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
November 07, 2007
362 Days to the Election
Thank you John Edwards, I think we'll just lift this one for the general election:
As Warren Zevon was wont to say, "UHHHH/Draw Blood!" Yips! from Robbo: Not that I posted this clip recently or anything. (I've long known Steve-O doesn't read my material, but I've come to accept it. Sniff.) Nonetheless, Steve-O's alighting on it again reminded me of what I think should be the real meme for this election cycle:
Yips! to Maverick Label, from whom I lifted this custom image. Go there and buy stuff.
Posted by: Steve-O at 10:32 PM | Comments (18) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
Turning the tide on the Dollar?
Is the Bernanke/Paulson strategy on the dollar starting to pay off? Sarkozy seems to think so:
Sarkozy's complaints that the U.S. currency's drop against the euro is undermining European competitiveness struck a discordant note in a summit intended to demonstrate an improving U.S.-French relationship. His comments came as the euro surged to a record high against the dollar. The currency touched $1.4731 today, a 65 percent gain since the end of 2001. Concern that the euro is too strong has been a Sarkozy theme since his presidential campaign earlier this year. Since his May 6 election, he has urged European Central Bank officials to lower interest rates to weaken the currency. ``If anything, this is a signal to the ECB that the euro has accelerated and they need to bear that in mind and not rush to raise rates,'' said Laurence Boone, chief French economist at Barclays Capital in Paris. ``When the dollar is depreciating, French firms are more affected than those in Germany.'' Germany hasn't joined Sarkozy in his effort to weaken the currency. German Chancellor Angela Merkel isn't concerned by the euro's appreciation, a Finance Ministry spokesman said. Asked at a Berlin news conference today whether the government ``is concerned'' about the single currency's rise to a record, Finance Ministry spokesman Torsten Albig said: ``No.'' Airbus Costs Sarkozy said yesterday that Toulouse, France-based Airbus SAS, the world's biggest planemaker, loses about 1 billion euros ($1.5 billion) for every 10-cent increase against the dollar. ``Those who admire the nation that has built the world's greatest economy and has never ceased trying to persuade the world of the advantages of free trade expect her to be the first to promote fair exchange rates,'' Sarkozy said. He repeated his concern that the Chinese yuan is unfairly undervalued.The dollar will rise against the Euro if either we raise interest rates or the ECB lowers theirs. Looks like they just blinked.
Posted by: Steve-O at 10:10 PM | Comments (16) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
A La Recherche Du Aesthetic Horror Perdu
***Spot the quote. Should be easy.
Posted by: Robert at 04:53 PM | Comments (26) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
Wednesday Stupid
The spouse/significant other remote control:
Posted by: Steve-O at 03:27 PM | Comments (13) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
Gratuitous Crossing The Tiber Posting
Outstanding! No hot beverages, please!
Yips! to commenter Quasimodo for the linky.Posted by: Robert at 02:45 PM | Comments (19) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
Gratuitous Llama Defensive Gardening Bleg
Last weekend we attended a charity auction hosted by the Junior League-like woman's group of which the Missus is the current president. (She's a Junior Leaguer as well, but apparently can't get enough of teh philathropy. Those of you who know her know exactly what I'm talking about.) In an effort to artificially inflate prices get into the spirit of things, the Missus bid on several items herself, explaining confidently in the face of my feeble protests that of course somebody else would come in and outbid her.
Posted by: Robert at 02:35 PM | Comments (16) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
No time for panic on the Right
Good cheer from the fine folks at NRO. Hillary! is rarely hit with tough questions and when she is, she stumbles just like she did during last week's debate. Blaming the moderator and then playing the victim has not gotten her anywhere. Likewise, there are plenty of Democrats who won in the last cycle in red states by razor-thin margins.
Posted by: LMC at 02:23 PM | Comments (14) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
Llama Lunchtime Observation
If you happen to be in the area of Judiciary Square in Dee Cee, I can state unequivocably that the caesar salad at Cosi's is much superior to the one at Au Bon Pan, the former being freshly toss'd, larger and accompanied by a better dressing.
Aaaaaand, the staff at Cosi are actually friendly and helpful, unlike those at ABP who in recent weeks have gone from indifferent to downright surly.Posted by: Robert at 01:51 PM | Comments (17) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
Rough Day For Romney
As Brownback endorses McCain and Pat Robertson backs Giuliani.
Difficult to gauge how positive the impact of these endorsements are for McCain and Giuliani, but by not getting them (or either for that matter) Mitt Romney takes a bit of a hit in the expectations game.Posted by: Gary at 12:21 PM | Comments (16) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
Your Daily Llama Endorsement
"As an Oscar nominee, I was up against some stiff competition - Sarandon, Stone, Streep - but the clear winner in this contest has to be the Llamas." You heard her. Go vote now!
Posted by: Gary at 10:52 AM | Comments (18) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
Gratuitous Domestic Posting
Regular readers must by now, of course, know that I am very, very happy as a family man. So I'm sure nobody will take it the wrong way when I suggest that perhaps there are some advantages to bachelorhood.
To wit. For one thing, you can be pretty sure that somebody else isn't going to both clog the downstairs loo and, at the same time, not flush it properly, thereby allowing the water to keep running. You can also be pretty sure that such clogging and flushing activity will not suddenly cause monsoon season to set in from the ceiling of your Former Fortress of Solitude directly below said loo. And - this is the kicker - you can be pretty sure that this chain of events will not suddenly become known to you as you are trying to work out on the treadmill, necessitating the need to scramble for plunger and towels while gasping for breath and sweating like an ox. For another thing, you can be pretty sure that you won't suddenly discover -when you're already running late in the morning - that one of your (very few) suit jackets has been caught up in a Salvation Army closet sweep and whisked away. Just sayin'. Lemonade From Lemons Handed You By Life Update: Of course, the upside of the second episode is that I can buy a new suit, something I've been thinking about for a while. I'm still looking for an upside to the first. Update Deux: In the comments, our pal Lintenfiniel Jen asks what I mean by flushing properly. It's a legitimate question that warrants answering here. You see, the downstairs loo requires a quick, sharp plunge of the handle followed by an immediate release. If you flush slowly or hold the handle down for any length of time, the stopper will not seal properly on the outflow pipe. As a result, the tank never fills, the little bulb never floats up and the inflow valve is never cut off. This is just an annoyance when there's no blockage but, as noted above, can contribute to the Perfect Storm under the right circs. I've informed the ladies of Orgle Manor about this little quirk time and time again, but of course nobody ever listens to Ol' Dad anyway, so why would a bulletin on this valueable piece of homeowner knowledge be treated any differently?Posted by: Robert at 09:45 AM | Comments (16) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
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